Strong Investment in Biopharma

Financing statistics

2023 was a standout year for investment with 28 deals totaling $2,586M. 2024 is on track to be equally strong.

Danish companies have raised the most capital so far in 2024, but Swedish companies have secured the most deals, 11 in total.

The Medicon Valley has secured considerably more than any other life science cluster in Europe with $3B in financing. The 30 separate fundraising deals exceeds the total for major biotech hubs such as London, Paris and Stockholm.

Largest 2024 deals

$1.0Bprivate placement in
June 2024

$282Mpublic offering in
September 2024

$150M royalty funding agreement in September 2024

$35M private placement in
April 2024

Partnering statistics

2023 was a striking year with the value of deals signed by companies in the Medicon Valley totaling $9,671M, four-fold higher than in 2022. What’s more 2024 is on track to continue this momentum.

Novo Nordisk was involved in 12 of the 29 alliances announced in H1 2023 – H2 2024, the largest of which is with Valo Health. The partnership will seek to develop novel treatments for cardiometabolic diseases based on Valo’s large human dataset and AI powered computation.

Ascendis Pharma and MC2 Therapeutics have also been particularly active with both announcing 3 separate partnerships.

The Medicon Valley is the fourth most active biopharma cluster in Europe in terms of partnering activity. Alliances have been formed with partner companies located in Europe, the US and Asia Pacific.

Largest in-licensing deal: $2.7B potential milestone payments to Valo Health, agreed September 2023

Largest out-licensing deal: $248M potential milestone payments from Eyconis, agreed January 2024

2024 pipeline snapshot

502 drugs are being actively developed by companies head-quartered in the Medicon Valley, up from 488 drugs 12 months ago.

Danish companies are responsible for the lion’s share. 402 products are in active development by Danish companies, and 102 by Swedish ones.

Genmab and Novo Nordisk have had a particularly strong year with their portfolios increasing in size between August 2023 to August 2024. Genmab’s portfolio increased from 26 to 31 products and Novo Nordisk’s from 104 to 109 products.

Top 5 Medicon Valley companies based on portfolio size

Novo Nordisk	109
Lundbeck	48
Genmab	31
Leo Pharma	30
ALK-Abello	14

Anticancer research remains a key focus area. Companies to watch include Lund-based BioInvent which announced a new clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with MSD for pembrolizumab in April 2024, and Copenhagen-based Hervolution with it’s a leading oncology program slated to enter the clinic this year.

Other diseases with considerable, but perhaps less publicized investment, include Parkinson’s NASH, neuropathic pain and schizophrenia.

European pipeline comparison

The Medicon Valley has the second highest number of companies actively developing biopharmaceutical products in Europe. The region brings together top universities, hospitals, human life science business, regional governments and service providers in a strong triple helix ecosystem. Cross-border collaborations ensure efficient use of common resources and strengthen Medicon Valley’s competitiveness.

Compared to other European life science clusters, the Medicon Valley scores well in terms of the number of products in active development. Of the drugs in development, nearly 50% (167 drugs) are in clinical development, almost equivalent to the total number of drugs in active development in the Stockholm-Uppsala region.